


The Princess Who Has Everything

by livielightyear



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Entrapdak Secret Santa 2019, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livielightyear/pseuds/livielightyear
Summary: After Entrapta brings back a huge piece of First Ones Tech from the Northern Reach, she jokingly tells Hordak, “Happy New Year!” and offers it as her gift to him. Hordak becomes preoccupied almost to the point of obsession on how to reciprocate with the perfect gift.Secret Santa gift 2019
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 123





	The Princess Who Has Everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [narishkeit451](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=narishkeit451), [tangerinepuppet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangerinepuppet/gifts).



Hordak stood in front of a work table in his Sanctum, scanning data on the Portal idly. Entrapta had gone to the Northern Reach with Force Captain Catra and Force Captain Scorpia to obtain Frist Ones tech powerful enough to power the Portal. There was no work he could accomplish on the Portal until they returned successfully with the tech and Entrapta. He tried to occupy his mind by running Portal simulations while she was away… If he was being honest with himself (and he wasn’t) he would say that he couldn’t focus on anything without her near him, bouncing ideas around and combining their knowledge to make something no one on Etheria had ever dreamed of before… That a deep and untouchable part of him ached with the absence of her… But he wasn’t being honest with himself. Instead, he told himself that he was impatient to deal with another delay on the portal project, and angry that they weren’t back yet to keep the ball moving forward.  
  
As if to respond to his impatience, Imp came flying out of the high rafters in his Sanctum, perching himself with practiced ease on Hordak’s shoulders. He parroted off the news that Entrapta, Force Captains Scorpia, and Catra had returned. He scratched Imp’s chin as he made his way to his Throne room in preparation for the report on their findings.  
  
If he thought he was impatient before, knowing she was in the Fright Zone and on her way pushed him to restlessness. He sat on his Throne and tried to look passive, but he just couldn’t manage it. He drummed his fingers and crossed and uncrossed his legs waiting for official news. Finally, a pale faced Cadet announced their arrival.  
  


‘It's about TIME,’ he thought, but his impatience dissolved as all three of them strode into his Throne Room. He stood up, eyes wide, and jaw lax as he took in the sight before him.

Entrapta entered first, followed closely behind by Scorpia and Catra, both looking bluer than usual, but that’s not what caught his attention. With her hair, Entrapta was rolling a disk-shaped First One’s crystal that was taller than she was.  
Before, they had only been working with crystal fragments, the largest being the size of his outspread hand.  
This Crystal could probably power his portal, plus the entire Fright Zone. He didn’t imagine one this large existed.

“TA DA!” Entrapta’s nasally voice cut through his reverie. “Told ya the Northern Reach was the perfect spot to dig up some choice First One’s Tech! This baby is powerful enough to power the portal machine, plus the entire Fright Zone! I almost didn’t think Crystals came this big!” She rubbed her gloved hands together excitedly.

Huh. Great minds, and all that.

She noted him gapping at it. His eyes were so big when he wasn’t glowering. “I thought you would like it,” she said, smiling. “Happy New Year!”

He broke his attention from the Crystal to look at her, puzzled. It was nowhere near the new Lunar cycle. What did that have to do with the Crystal, anyway?

She immediately dove into telling him all the ideas she had to make the connection to power the Portal, so the puzzlement left his mind for a time. He bid the Force Captains a job well done (Force Captain Scorpia beamed at this. Force Captain Catra looked offended he didn’t say more.) He dismissed them, and got to work with Entrapa right away, allowing her the pleasure of rolling the Crystal to his Sanctum. It seemed to have its own illumination in the dimly lit corridor as she rolled it between them.

“What did you mean by wishing me a Happy New Year?” He asked, breaking the comfortable silence that fell between them.

“Oh, that? I didn’t actually _mean_ that it’s the New Year, I just said it for effect.” She giggled at her own joke before continuing. “I know we’re working on the Portal _together_ , but when I went to the Northern Reach to look for the tech, I wanted to bring the perfect First Ones’ tech back for _you_. I know how long and hard you’ve worked on the Portal, and I wanted this to be my gift to you. I’m either really late for the New Year gift exchange, or really early depending on how you look at it!” She laughed again, her usual rosy glow deepening slightly with the effort.

Despite his confusion at her reasoning, his heart swelled and sank at the same time. She offered the First Ones Crystal to him, as a gift! She acknowledged all his work and efforts! And yet, he had nothing for her in return. No offering to show her how much her help on the project meant to him. Nothing to show her how much further his research went simply by her being his Lab Partner.

He would just have to come up with something. Challenge accepted.  
  
Standing in his Sanctum with Entrapta by his side, he mentally vowed that he wouldn’t rest until he found the perfect gift.

As this ran through his mind, he realized Entrapta hadn’t stopped talking. He was able to pick up her train of thought rather easily. Even while he listened to her, he continued to run ideas for the perfect gift in his mind.   
  
~~~

Hordak had to adapt, learn, overcome, compromise, negotiate, barter, juggle, delegate, plan, initiate, and more since he crashed into Etheria alone, all those years ago.  
He never, ever, (not even once!) had to come up with a New Year’s gift for anyone. Not a gift of any kind, for that matter. Now that he was trying, he found it was proving quite difficult.  
  
He sat in his inner sanctum that functioned as his bedroom. Ration bar breakfast neglected, data pads strewn around on the desk in front of him, clawed hands in his hair.  
  
It had been 1 week, and he hadn’t come up with a single, solitary idea.

He let Entrapta head the project to implement the First Ones’ Crystal into the Portal’s power supply. He tinkered along with her, but was slowly more and more preoccupied with returning her gesture of a gift as each day passed. There were distractions. Hooking up the crystal overloaded the Fright Zone’s power grid, which had to be dealt with… Paired with the escape of Shadow Weaver and Force Captain Catra’s betrayal, he’d had a full plate. Despite the fallbacks, Entrapta made quick work of hooking up the crystal, and was already ready to test it. Even her ability to work quickly made him feel guilty that he didn’t have something in return for her.

He had given himself the deadline of “testing day” to have her gift prepared. The day was upon him, and he still had nothing.

He tried to convince himself it didn’t matter, that he owed her nothing, but he couldn’t stop thinking of everything she had done to help him complete the Portal, and how much improvements she made to Horde tech overall. The Fright Zone itself seemed to run smoother since she arrived. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that there would be no way to repay her at all.

He dug his claws deeper into his hair.

Imp crept down to Hordak from his position on the back wall of the bedroom. He inched closer to Hordak and chirped a non-verbal question in his ear. He was sensitive to Hordak’s distress, but unable to determine the cause. He placed a tiny hand on Hordak’s forearm, and when Hordak didn’t move, he came closer to rest his cheek there as well.

Hordak untangled one of his hands from his hair and brought it down to gently stroke Imp. The tension built up in his upper body began to relax with each soothing, happy noise that Imp made in response to the attention. He brought his other hand down so he was cupping Imps face. Cheeks gently squished by Hordak’s thumbs, and the back of his head and neck scratched by Hordak’s claws.

Imp was in _heaven._ Hordak’s body relaxed further as he focused on giving Imp attention. He leaned forward so their foreheads were touching, comforted by the soft texture of his hair, and the sweet noises Imp was making.

“I don’t know what to do.” Hordak voiced his problem out loud to Imp and no one. “No matter what I come up with, I determine that it’s just not suitable, or not equal to what she’s already given… I’ve considered everything a Princess might want: gowns, jewelry, cosmetics, even a new living area in the Fright Zone with all the comforts Etheria could offer, but none of those things are Entrapta. Force Captain Catra mentioned that she even wore her stained shirt and overalls to the Princess Ball.” He stood up, began to pace the room. Imp flapped his wings and shifted so he could rest on Hordak’s shoulder while he moved around.

“I’ve considered more access to Horde technology, but she already has free reign. She has access to all the tools she could ever need. I’ve already supplied her with her personal items from Dryl.” He stopped in front of a looking glass, noting a new crease on his brow. He sighed, and reached up to pet Imp again.

“Even if I could give her gowns, jewels, technology, tools, or all the comforts within my power, nothing I do or give her could possibly be enough to replay my debt to her…” Hordak trailed off, defeat and finality in his voice.

He looked in the mirror again, tugging at his dress to smooth and adjust it before departing into the next room. This small area was a sort of hallway between his bedroom, Throne Room, and Sanctum. It was cut off from the rest of the Fright Zone and could only be accessed through those areas. It was the perfect area for his armor machinery. The armor that covered Hordak’s upper body was bulky, complicated, and tedious to put on. It required the use of machinery to both apply and take off. The armor was painful, pinching and burning his skin in areas, and sending electrical shocks through his body as it attached to the ports on his back, sides, and arms. The discomfort was intense and distracting no matter how many times he had it done, day in and day out. He didn’t notice his guilt anymore as his vision blurred with pain. He didn’t notice when Imp flied off. It would take him a while to recover to notice anything at all.

  
~~~

Hordak tried not to let his personal disappointment show when he made his way into his Sanctum to meet with Entrapta. It was time to begin the Portal Test. Entrapta was bent over, double checking the connection of a few cables when he arrived. He didn’t notice that Imp was on her shoulder until she stood up, and they both looked at him with mirrored expressions.

Concern? Confusion? Hordak had a hard time reading it, but he felt like he had been caught and he wasn’t sure why.

_“Nothing I do or give her could possibly be enough to replay my debt to her…”_ Imp opened his mouth, and Hordak’s own voice filled his ears. I’m jumped off Entrapta’s shoulder and onto the floor, approaching Hordak with that same expression on his face, letting Hordak’s words sing out another two times before he made a swift wing-aided jump to his shoulder.

_“Nothing I do or give her could possibly be enough to replay my debt to her…”_

_“Nothing I do or give her could possibly be enough to replay my debt to her…”_

_‘The little snitch.’_ Hordak thought, suppressing a sneer. He wanted to growl. He wanted to scream at him. Wanted to grab Imp by his chubby little arms and toss him out of the Sanctum with a firm command to STAY OUT until you learn to spy on OTHER PEOPLE!

But he did nothing. He stood stock still, mute with embarrassment.

“Hordak… Do you really feel that way?” Entrapta’s hair was limp, her little brow furrowed. She was tapping her two gloved index fingers together. Something he noticed she did when she didn’t know what to do with her hands.

“I—”

“Because you’re working with incomplete data.” She was looking him square in the face.

“…Oh?”

“Absolutely! You’re not considering the debt I have to you--- And also, giving a gift doesn’t mean that person expect anything back, but since we’re on the subject, we might as well lay it all out on the table!”

He couldn’t yet form words to respond, so he just shifted his weight and let her continue.

“Look at this room!” She spun around on her hair; arms open wide. “I’ve never had access to this kind of technology before. Because of you, I’m working on projects I only dreamed were possible. Finding solutions to theories I thought where unsolvable!”

It was technically still HIS room, and HIS technology, but he didn’t try to correct her. She went around to items in the room, explaining their merit and how they expanded her scientific horizons in rapid fire succession. His eyes followed her, as he half listened. He noticed his workspace had taken on a fresh personality. Piles of organized chaos around where he did not put them.

Maybe it wasn’t just his room anymore after all.

She finished her trip around the room. She gestured the reprogramed bot to come over.

“Look at Emily!” She said, excitement still thick in her voice. “She was only possible because of the base program you created for the war bots, and I never would have considered the spherical design! She’s my best AI yet, more alive than any humanoid bot I ever tried to make before! _You_ made her possible.” She rubbed a gloved hand over the bot—Emily’s dome.

“And Hordak…” She spoke his name with so much warmth and familiarity. He never would have thought that hearing his name without ‘lord’ in front of it would please him so much, but he loved hearing her say it. She was starting to get through to him. He stopped feeling so defeated in himself and finally gave her his full attention. “You opened up the Universe for me.”

This was something he hadn’t considered.

“Before I met you, I thought all there was to scientific discovery could be found here, on Etheria. I never considered other bodies in the cosmos. You’ve given me stars, planets, and opened the door to things I still don’t know the names of.” She was looking him in his eyes, earnestly. He wasn’t sure when his throat became so tight. “Even if it’s only pictures on a console.”

“When the Portal works, perhaps—”

“One last thing!” She interrupted him again. When did she get so close? She was standing in front of him now. She looked like she wanted to touch him, but didn’t. Her gaze moved around his person, starting at the symbol on his chest, to little details in his armor, his boots, the curve of his ear. She finally landed on his face. Why were her eyes red and glassy? “The best gift you ever gave me was a Lab Partner.”

Hordak thought his heart might stop. Or burst. Or both.

“Every thing I’ve been able to accomplish the past few months, _we’ve_ been able to accomplish because we could do it together. I never even would have tinkered with portal technology if it wasn’t for you.” She raised herself on her hair to his height. She finally rested a gloved hand on each of his shoulders. “The best gift I could ever be given is standing right in front of me.” She smiled at him with an open-mouthed smile that reached her eyes. “Don’t ever think you’re not enough, because all of this---” she released his shoulders and his eyes as she spun on her hair again. “It’s all because of you, Hordak.”

She came back down to the floor with a thud of her boots.

“I suppose…” He brought a clawed hand to his chin. He wanted to look thoughtful, considering her words with scientific detachment, but he really needed to delay saying anything for another moment to get his voice under control. “I suppose we can consider it an even trade.” He clasped his hands behind his back and leaned every so slightly toward her. “Is that acceptable?”

“Sure is!” She whistled for Emily to come over. Imp was riding on the bot’s back looking very pleased with himself. Emily produced Entrapta’s recorder. “Now that that’s taken care of, shall we get this party started?”

Hordak nodded his affirmative.

With a click of her thumb and a subtle beep, Entrapta began her recording.

“Day 135, this could finally be it…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you sympathy_for_hordak for being my beta reader!


End file.
